A secret shared
by JediGeneralB
Summary: In which Ashoka finds out in a rather grueling way, that Anakin has a prothetic arm.


Ashoka had been Anakin's padawan for over a year now, and it was good. Sure they had a had a few mishaps along the way, but for the most part it was good. They where good. So when Anakin asked Ashoka if she wanted to spar, of course she said yes. Of course she jumped up from the couch and ran out the door, yelling that the last one to the training room was Bantha Fodder. Of course she did. So Ashoka bolted down the halls, running as fast as she could to escape her masters nearing footsteps, Giggling and squealing all the way. In the end she had lost. It was an ill attempt, but she had arrived in the training room nonetheless just a few paces behind her master, her Skyguy.

"You ready, snips?" He called over his shoulder.

Ashoka nodded, as she was too out of breath to speak, she never got how he could hide his discomfort so well. How Anakin could go on for the longest time as if everything was normal, even though it was not. Anakin, for one thing, was not normal. He never had been. Never would be. Ashoka took her lightsaber from her belt and ignited it, then moved into a starting position. From there, all she could do was wait. Anakin was unpredictable as a person, but even more so when wielding a lightsaber. His form five lightsaber combat style was ment for quick, unpredictable, and decisive attacks. It was rare that anyone best him, even Obi-Wan, who knew his almost every move. When Anakin finally did attack, he did so from overhead. It was ment to be a powerful strike, one called "falling avalanche" due to the way one would come down over the head. But Ashoka was ready. She skillfuly blocked his attack with a green blade of her own, which clashed against the Icy blue of Anakin's lightsaber. Only one blow had been struck, but already Ashoka was short of breath. She had never fully recovered from her run, so the next series of attacks where slow, and carelessly preformed. She felt herself getting sloppy, and made a mental note not to race next time.

Anakin smirked. " keep your blade up snips. Your getting tired."

As if she didn't know.

Whatever happened next was blurred. It was the sort of thing that happened so fast, you couldn't ever tell one move from the next. One moment she was parrying an attack from Anakin, and the next she was slicing through his hand with her lightsaber.

Anakin's eyes widened in surprise, as his hand fell, quite ungracefully, to the floor.

Ashoka droped her lightsaber and covered her mouth with her hands.

Anakin didn't move for a good twenty seconds. His back ridged, in what Ashoka could only guess was anger and pain.

"Anakin... Anakin... I'm... I'm _so sorry!_ I didn't mean to, I swear!"

Ashoka then lost all control and started to freak out, thinking that she had just sliced off her master's hand. She broke into a sweat and tried to think. _Ok, so I just cut his hand off what now?_ She thought. _If I take him to the med center I might get kicked out of the order, but if I do nothing he might die. Actually he would die, and then who would train me?_ As Ashoka panicked, Anakin was picking up his lightsaber and examining his severed hand. _Oh no! Should he be touching that? Why is he touching that? He must be in shock._

Ok, uh, Skyguy? I think that we should-"

But she was cut off by Anakin, who was no longer frowning, but was laughing. _Laughing!_

"Skyguy?" She asked. "Are you ok?"

His mouth just slid into the same crooked smile that he always wore.

"Ashoka, I'm fine!" He said between laughs. "I lost my arm a long time ago! It's ok, see?"

Ashoka couldn't help but cringe when he held up his right arm, revealing nothing but burnt wires and leather. He really did have a prosthetic arm! She had heard some of the other padawans gossiping about it but had never thought...

"But how? I mean, how have I never seen it?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, I guess I've just always kept it a secret. It's just not something I'm proud of."

For only a moment Ashoka saw a flash of fear in his eyes. As if he where reliving the moment, feeling it all again for the first time. She saw how angry it made him, how he stared off in the distance and unconsciously clenched his teeth. She could see how he felt. Sort of like, if he where just another person in the galaxy, and not the 'Chosen One' everyone belived him to be. Only for a moment he was fragile, falteringly human. And then he was back, to the present, to now. To being a hero, and brave, and a person with two arms. Ashoka understood it. He couldn't be any other way. He had to be strong. He had to have secrets.

"It's all in the past now." He whispered, almost inaudible. " I'm sorry I kept it a secret."

"It's ok." She replied. Because it was. "It's not a secret anymore. It's a secret that we share."


End file.
